Cubs fan travels to dad's grave to listen to Chicago's triumphant World Series win

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Nov. 4, 2016 / 1:57 PM GMT / Source: TODAY

By Scott Stump

When the Chicago Cubs got the final out for their first World Series title in more than a century, they helped Wayne Williams keep a promise to his father that was 36 years in the making.

The die-hard Cubs fan left his North Carolina home on Wednesday morning and drove 650 miles to his father's grave in Greenwood, Indiana. He then sat graveside with a portable radio and a flashlight and listened to night's epic Game 7 win over the Cleveland Indians.

Williams' dad, also named Wayne, died from kidney cancer at 53 in 1980.

"I talked it out with my boys forever,'' Williams, 68, told NBC affiliate WTHR, which accompanied him to the gravesite. "I let them know that I told my dad — we had a pact. When the Cubs — not if, when — the Cubs got into the World Series, we would make sure we listen to the games together."

For the rest of the elder Wayne's life, the Cubs mostly occupied the role of lovable losers, often finishing near the bottom of the standings. This year marked Chicago's first World Series appearance since 1945 and its first title in 108 years.

"I'll never forget one day he said, start of the season, I forget what year it was, 'This is going to be our year,''' Williams joked. "We're going to be .500.'"